Rock drill



Dec. 22, 1942.

'.1. c. CURTIS ROCK DRILL lFiled July 31, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Mii/f.

Dec. 22, 1942.

J. C. CURTIS ROCK DRILL Filed July 31, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 MYX5.

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ROCK DRILL John C. Curtis, Claremont, N. 5E., assignor to SullivanMachinery Company, a corporation of- Massachusetts Application July 31,1940, sei-iai No. 348,759 7 Claims. (Cl. Z55-51) Ihis invention relatesto rock drills, and more on line 8 8 of Fig. '7, illustrating the i'eedconparticularly to improved supporting and guiding trol device. meansfor the drill steel actuating motor of a Fig. 9 is a detail VsectionalView taken on line hammer rock drill. 2 9 .of Fig. 8.

It is an object of this invention to provide an 5 In this illustrativeembodiment of the invenimproved rock drilling apparatus. It is anothertion there is shown a drill 'steel actuating motor 'FlC object of thisinvention to provide an improved i of the drifter type mounted upon animproved structure for supporting and guiding a drill steel supportingand guiding structure, generally desactuating motor relative to itswork. Still anignated 2.'

other object of this invention is to provide an l0 The drill steelactuating motor I is of the improved rock drilling apparatus of the typein pressure iuid actuated type of a standard and which a portion of thesupportl is furnished by .vell known design, and comprises a motorcylthe face in which a hole is being drilled. A still inder 4 in whichthere is reciprocable a usual further object of this invention is toprovide, in hammer piston adapted to actuate percussively a supportingand guiding structure for a drill a drill steel 5 supported in a usualmanner withsteel actuating motor of the chain fed type, an in a frontchuck housing 6. The cylinder 4 is improved support member adjustablefor conprovided with a rear head block 7, andthe motrolling the tensionofthe feed chain. Still antor parts, including the cylinder, chuckhousing other object is to provide, in a rock drilling apand rear headblock, are held in assembled reparatus of the type above mentioned, animlation by usual side rods 8. Pressure fluid is proved supporting.structure having an adjustsupplied to the motor cylinder from a supplyline able, fluid actuated member for supporting the I0 under the controlof a usual throttle valve drill at one of its ends. Still another objectis mechanism I I having an operating handle I2.

to provide, in a supporting structure for a drill Now referring to theimproved supporting and steel actuating motor, a fluid actuated means 2iguiding structure, it will be noted that there is slidably adjustablealong a motor guide member provided an elongated guide member I3, shownfor adjusting the tension on a feed chain for the herein as an vI-beam,and mounted on the formotor and operative for engaging an abutment wardend of the guide member for adjustment to support the drill. Otherobjects and advanlongitudinally thereof is an extensible, iuid tages ofthe invention will hereinafter more fulactuated, supporting device,generally designated ly appear in the course of the following descrip-I4, while attached to the rear end of the guide tion and as moreparticularly pointed out in the member is an adjustable supportingstructure, appended claims. generally'designated I5.V The motor I isprovided In the accompanying drawings, in which there with dependingside portions I6 which are slidais shovm for purposes of illustrationone embodi- 3.3 bly guided upon the upper anges I7 on the I- ment of theinvention, beam guide member, and a feed chain I8 con- Fig. l is a view,in side elevation, of a drill nected to the drill motor passes aroundthe ends mechanism in which the illustrative embodiof the guide memberand is guided and controlled ment of the invention is incorporated. in amanner that will shortly be described more Fig. 2 is an enlargedhorizontal sectional view, 4o in detail. Referring to the forwardsupporting de-"i with a portion broken away, taken on the line vice It,it will be noted that it comprises a cyl- 2 2 of Fig. 1. inder I9arranged beneath the guide member in Fig. 3 is an enlarged crosssectional view taken a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of the onthe line 3 3 of Fig. 1. latter and having'a bore 20 which is closed atits Fig. 4 is an enlarged View, with parts in ele- 4- ends by cylinderheads 2| and 22. Reciprocably vation and parts in section, taken on theplane mounted in the cylinder bore is a piston 24 caroi` the line 4 4 ofFig. l. rying a piston rod 25 which extends through an Fig. 5 is anenlargedcross sectional View taken opening 23 in the Cylinder head 22and has on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1, with parts omitted. threadedlysecured to its forward end an abut- Fig. 6 is an enlarged horizontalsectional view 50 ment-engaging point 27. Formed integrally with :akenon the line 6 6 of Fig. 1. the vcylinder head 2| are projecting arms 29hav- Fig. 7 is an enlarged view in longitudinal vering grooves 30 forslidably receiving lower flanges ical section taken through the improveddrill 3| on the guide member i3, as shown in Fig. 4. nechanism shown inFig. l. Attached to the cylinder head 22, as by bolts 32,

Fig. Sis an enlarged cross sectional view taken iS a block 33 Which iSprovided With gIOOVeS 34 also slidably receiving the lower flanges` onthe guide member. as shown in Fig. 5. The block 33 is provided withportions 36 extending upwardly about the sides of the guide member I3,and formed in the portions 36 at the forward end of the block areopenings 31 which receive a bolt 38 extending transversely of the guidemember in advance of its forward end. The bolt is secured in position bya nut 40 threaded upon its end, and rotatably mounted upon the bolt is achain sprocket 4I about which the feed chain I8 passes. Mounted on thebolts 32 in advance of the block 33 are arms 44 carrying a guide member45 for guiding the forward end of the drill steel while the hole isbeing started. Means are provided for moving the supporting device I4and the chain sprocket 4I therewith forwardly along the guide member toincrease the tension on the feed chain to the desired amount and toholdthe device i4 in its adjusted position. This means comprises a block 41adjustably mounted upon the lower flanges 3| on the guide member andheld in any desired position by clamping bolts 48. A threaded rod 5I),fixed tothe cylinder head 2I as by welding, extends rearwardly throughan opening in a dependingv portion 5I of the block 41 and has threadedupon it nuts 52 at opposite sides of the depending portion 5I foradjusting the device I4 relative to the block 41 and for locking it inits adjusted position. The piston 24 is moved forwardly in its cylinderbore to force the abutment-engaging point 21 firmly against a forwardabutment, usually the working face, by pressure fluid supplied from amain supply line 54, under the control of a manually operated valve 55,to a flexible conduit 55, which conducts the pressure fluid, under thecontrol of` a three-way throttle valve 53, through an opening 59 in thecylinder head 2l to the rear end of the cylinder bore. To release thepoint 21 from its abutment the throttle valve 58 is moved to cut off theflow of pressure fluid in the conduit 56 and to vent the cylinder bore2D to atmosphere.

At the rear end of the guide member I3 are plates 60 attached to thesides ofthe guide member by bolts 6I; and supported by the plates is adevice, generally designated 63, for controlling the motion of the feedchain I8. This device as hereinafter described is operative to causehammer motor to advance along the guide bar step by step or to cause itto retract at will. Attached to the rearward ends of the plates Si) by abolt 65 is a member 66 having a rearward portion fitting within a recessB8 in a connecting member GEI, as shown in Fig. 6. A pin 13 extendsthrough an opening in the member 69 and fits within a groove in theportion of the member GS extending into the recess G8, for lockingtogether the members 66 and 69. The member 6B is pivotally connected toa pivot-forming bolt 'I2 carried by a clamping device 'I3 adjustablymounted on the supporting structure I5, and a handle 14 on the bolt 12effects clamping engagement ofthe clamping device with the supportingstructure in its various adjusted positions.

The supporting structure I5 may be of a type similar to that disclosedin my copending application Serial No. 325,490, led March 23, 1940, andherein comprises a cylinder 15 having a lower cylinder head 16 to whichthere is attached an abutment-engaging point 11. Reciprocably containedwithin the cylinder is a piston, not shown. having a tubular-shapedpiston rod the 'r extending through an opening in an upper cylinder head80 and carrying an abutment-engaging point 82. Pressure fluid issupplied from the supply line 54 to a flexible conduit 83 which connectsto the piston rod 19 adjacent the abutment engaging point 82, andpressure fluid flowing from the conduit 83 is delivered through thetubular piston rod to the cylinder beneath the piston for moving theabutment-engaging points 'l1 and 82 rrnly into engagement withextraneous abutments. A three-way valve 85, having a control handle S5,is provided for controlling the flow of pressure fluid through theconduit 83 to the cylinder or for cutting off pressure fluid supply andventing the cylinder to atmosphere to effect a release of theabutment-engaging points from their abutments.

Now referring to the specific structure of the feedv control device 63,it will be noted that the rearward portion of the feed chain IB passesaround a chain sprocket 81 fixed to a control shaft 8S (Fig. 8). Alsofixed to the shaft 88 is a rotatable ratchet ring 89, while keyed to thecasing of the control device and arranged centrally within the ratchetring is a non-rotatable pawl carrier carrying sets of oppositely actingspring-pressed pawls QI and 92. A conventional rotatable control ring 93provided with an operating handle 94 is engageable with the pawls forthrowing out either set of pawls from engagement with the ratchet ring,while the other set engages the ratchet teeth. Thus the pawls may effectcontrol of the direction of rotation of the sprocket 81. As the hammerpiston of the drill steel actuating motor is operated percussively toactuate the drill steel, longitudinal vibrations in opposite directionsare set up Within the motor, and these vibrations create a jumpingtendency of the drilling motor. This jumpingr action, either forwardlyor rearwardly, effects feed of the drill motor along the guide and thedirection of feed is under the control of the pawls of the ratchetmechanism. The feed chain I8, under the control of the ratchetmechanism, permits feed of the drill motor step by step along the guidein one direction while movement of the motor in the reverse direction isprevented. As this control device is of a well known form and as themode of operation thereof, is well known to those skilled in the art,further description is herein unnecessary.

The mode of operation of the improved rock drill is as follows: Thecylinder 15 of the rear supporting structure I5 is placed in any desiredposition and pressure fiuid is supplied to the cylinder from the supplyline 54 and the exible conduit 83 to eect movement of the points 11 and82 into engagement with suitable abutments. The clamping device 13 ismoved into the desired position along the cylinder and is clamped inthat position by operating the handle 14 to tighten the bolt 12. Thesupporting device I4 at the forward end of the guide member I3 is thenmoved forwardly, if this adjustment has not, as would usually be thecase, been taken care of, by adjusting the nuts 52 on the threaded rod5Il, to increase the tension on the feed chain I8 to the desired amount.The guide member I3 is swung about the pivot-forming bolt 12 at its rearend to bring the drill motor into the deaired drilling position, andthen pressure fluid is supplied through the conduit 56 to the cylinderbore 20 at the rear end of the piston 24 for movingv theabutment-engaging point 21 firmly against the face of the work'Thethrottle valve H is then opened to supply pressure iiuid from thesupply line I to the -drill motor to eifect reciprocation of the hammerpiston in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. The reversalsof the hammer piston tend to produce jumps of the drill motorv and thisjumping tendency is transmitted to the feed chain I8. The motion controldevice E3 permits the feed chain to be moved yby the jumps of the drillmotor in one direction while holding the feed chain against movement inthe opposite direction, thereby effecting feed of the drill motor in onedirection or another depending on the adjustment of the motion controldevice.

As a result of this invention, it will be noted that an improved rockdrill having an impro-ved adjustable supporting structure for supportingthe drill motor in various positions relative to itsv Work is provided.It will further be noted that the supporting structure is not onlyrugged in construction, but is simple in design and composed of partswhich may be inexpensively constructed and easily applied.

lWhile there is in this application specifically described one formwhich the invention may assume in practice, it will be understood thatthis form of the same is shown for purposes of illustration and that theinvention may be modied and embodied in various other forms Withoutdeparting from its spirit or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a rock drill, in combination, a uid actuated percussive type drillmotor, means for supporting and guiding said drill motor for movementrelative to its work comprising an elongated guide member, adjustablemeans for supporting the rear end of said guidemember, a duid-actuatedabutment-engaging device adjustably mounted on the forward end of saidguide member, a feed control chain attached to said drill motor andextending around the ends of said guide member, a motion control deviceat the rear end of said guide member for controlling movement of saidfeed control chain, means attached to said abutment-engaging device andarranged at the forward end of said guide member for guiding the trolchain, means for adjusting the position of said abutment-engaging deviceand said feed control chain guiding means attached thereto forregulating the tension on said feed control chain,

and means for supplying pressure fluid to said abutment-engaging devicefor effecting engagement of the latter with a forward abutment.

2. In a rock drill, in combination, a fiuid actuated percussive typedrill motor, means for supporting and guiding said drill motor formovement relative to its work comprising an elongated guide member,adjustable means for supporting the rear end of said guide member, acylinder adjustably mounted on the forward end of said guide member andnally thereof, a piston reciprocably mounted in said cylinder andlcarrying an abutment-engaging point extending toward the forward end 3fsaid guide member, a feed control chain at- ;aclied to said drill motorand extending around he ends of said guide member, means arranged Lt therear end of said guide member for conrolling movement of said feedcontrol chain, neans attached to said cylinder and arranged movement ofsaid feed conextending longitudiat the'forward end of said guide memberfor guiding the movement of said feed control chain, means for adjustingthe and said feed control chain guiding means attached thereto forregulating the tension on said feed control chain,` and means forsupplying pressure fluid to saidicylinder for moving saidabutment-engaging' points into engagement with a forward abutment'.

3. In a rock drill, in combination, a drill motor, means for supportingand guiding said drill motor for movement relative to its workcomprising an elongated guide member having spaced parallel guideportions extending longitudinally thereof, said drill motor beingslidably guided upon certain of said guide portions, adjustable meansfor supporting one end of said guide member, a Iiuid actuatedabutment-engaging device at the opposite end of said guide member andslidably mounted on said guide portions spaced from the portions guidingsaid drill motor, a flexible feed control element attached to said drillmotor and extending around the ends of said guide member, a motion`control device for controlling movement of said exible feed controlelement, means attached to said abutment-engaging device for guiding themovement of said flexible feed control element, means for adjusting theposition of said abutment-engaging device and said control elementguiding means for regulating the tension on said flexible feed controlelement, and Vmeans for supplying pressure fluid to saidabutment-engaging device for effecting engagement of the latter with aforward abutment.

4. In a rock drill, in combination, a guide, a drill steel actuatormovable along said guide, means for feeding said actuator along saidguide toward the Work including a iiexible feeding element, a supportadjustably mounted on said guide and having means attached guiding themovement of said iiexible feeding element, said support being adjustableto vary the tension of said fiexible feeding element, anabutment-engaging element carried by said adjustable support and adaptedfor with the face of the work for supporting one end of said guide, andadjustable means for supporting the other end of said guide.

5. In a rock drill, in combination, a guide, a drill steel actuatormovable along said guide, means for feeding said actuator along saidguide toward the work including a iiexible feeding element, meanscarried by said guide and adjustable relative thereto for varying thetension of said iiexible feeding element, a projecting abutment-engagingelement carried by said last mentioned means and adjustable relativethereto for engaging an extraneous abutment for supporting one end ofsaid guide, and means for supporting the other end of said guide.

6. In combination, an elongated guide, a drill steel actuator movablealong said guide, means for feeding said actuator along said guideincluding a iiexible element, a bracket attached to the front end ofsaid guide and with which said fiexible element is operatively engaged,said bracket having a depending portion extending side of said guide,and an extensible support adapted for engagement with the face of thework for supporting the forward end of said guide, said extensiblesupport including an element s'ecured to said depending bracket portionand extending longitudinally position of said cylinder thereto for 4asoman along one: side-of: said guide, and said extensible support alsoincluding' an extensible portion guidedl on said element and projectingforwardly in advance of tl'iel forward end of said guide.

7. In combination, an elongated guide, adrill steel actuator movablealong said guide, means for feeding said actuator along said guideincluding a flexible feeding element, a support carried by said guideand with which said flexible elementv is operatively engaged, means foradjusting said support relative to said guide to vary the' tension ofsaid ilexible element, and an abutment engaging device secured to saidadjustable support; and having a portion projecting longitudinally intoengagement with an extraneous abutment for supporting said guide.

JOHN C. CURTIS.

